


Forever With Me

by sleepwithease



Series: We'll Always Be Good Company [2]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Parenthood, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Sequel!, Teenage Drama, We'll see what happens - Freeform, maybe angst?, they're all parents and I'm emo, time jumps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 04:20:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14324448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepwithease/pseuds/sleepwithease
Summary: Brady Lynch is getting older. Their family is growing. Adam and Ronan are just trying to keep up.A sequel to A Place Called Home. Read that first, then come back and enjoy some fluff!





	1. Hi Baby

 

The story starts, once again, with a baby.

 

“Holy _FUCKING HELL_ it’s like a watermelon is pushing its way out of a straw! Where the _hell_ is my husband?”

 

“I can’t go in there, Adam,” Gansey huffed, looking a bit worse for wear and sporting a sickly green undertone that frankly, washed him out. Adam bit his lip, staring at the ever-fearless Richard Gansey, wondering why a man who faced death twice was balking at the thought of facing his very pregnant, very tiny wife.

 

“I’M GOING TO _KILL_ THAT BASTARD!”

 

Oh…that’s why. Right.

 

Adam clapped gansey on the shoulder, giving it a gentle but firm squeeze as he tried to conjure up some comforting words for his dearest friend.

 

“Gansey, it will be fine. I’ve done this a thousand times. By the time the wash all the blood off, you won’t-”

 

 _“Blood?”_ Gansey paled. “There’s going to be blood? How much blood?”

 

Adam opened his mouth to respond, but the swinging of a door cut him off. Ronan came stalking out of the delivery room, his face set in a scowl.

 

“Dick, your wife is currently doing you the biggest fucking solid of your _life._ Don’t be a bitch. Get in there _. Now._ ”

 

You could say a lot about Ronan, but you couldn’t say he didn’t have a way with words. Gansey shot up, still looking slightly green and panicked but not nearly as timid. Adam stood too, clamping a hand on his shoulder once again as he looked into Gansey’s eyes.

 

“You were born to be a father, Gansey,” Adam said fondly. “Now get in there and make it so.”

 

“Right,” Gansey breathed, marching towards the delivery room just as Blue shouted, “GET THIS MONSTER OUT OF ME!”

 

“Jesus,” Ronan sighed, plopping down beside his husband. “Thank God I’m into men. That whole vagina business is fucked up, man.”

 

“They don’t look like that all the time, jackass,” Adam huffed fondly. Ronan turned to him, quirking a dark eyebrow incredulously.

 

“And how do you know that, Parrish?” Ronan sassed. “Seen many in your day?”

 

“Pornhub is free, baby,” Adam smirked. “You should know.”

 

Ronan had Adam in a headlock before he could catch his breath.

 

“Papa, no!” A familiar little voice barked from down the long, fluorescently lit hallway. Brady’s shoes slapped against the tile as he stormed towards his parents, his small tongue jutting out from between his lips in frustration. Orla walked behind him, snickering. “No fighting, Papa! Be sweet!”

 

“Yeah, Papa,” Orla growled, her eyes scaling Ronan hungrily. “Be sweet.”

 

“Orla, stop hitting on my husband in front of my child, please,” Adam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

 

“Orla says Papa is yummy, like candy!” Brady grinned as Ronan scooped him into his arms.

 

“That’s appropriate,” Ronan scowled, turning his fierce gaze on the unflinching Orla. She shrugged, the strap to her orange camisole falling from her shoulder with the movement.

 

“I’m babysitting for free. You’re lucky I didn’t teach him how to steal a car or pick up girls,” Orla said, studying her nails intently.

 

“Girls are gross!” Brady sniffed, disgusted.

 

“That’s right, Brady-bug!” Ronan cheered, tickling his son under his ribs.

 

 _“Papa!”_ Brady groaned. “I told you to stop calling me that!”

 

Ronan was about to respond when a series of wails interrupted them, two of which were deep and pained, and one that was high pitched and youthful. Seconds later, a grinning Gansey burst from the room.

 

“She’s here,” Gansey said, tears falling down his cheeks. “Come and meet her.”

 

* * *

 

 

 _“Campbell?”_ Ronan sneered, gazing down at the beautiful, wriggling baby in his arms. “That’s pretentious, even for you, Dick.”

 

“I picked it,” Blue sighed as Adam ran and ice cube across her sweat-soaked forehead. “If he had his choice, she’d be _Henrietta._ ”

 

“Hey, that’s a beautiful name!” Gansey sputtered.

 

“Campbell Jane Gansey,” Adam smiled, peeking over Ronan’s shoulder at the baby. She blinked up at him with Gansey's honey-colored eyes. “It’s perfect. _She’s_ perfect.”

 

“She is, isn’t she?” Blue said lovingly, her eyes locked with Gansey’s.

 

“Okay,” Adam declared. “I want a turn.”

 

“Brady, come here, bud,” Ronan said as he transferred the baby into Adam’s arms. “Come meet your cousin.”

 

The little boy waddled over, his ratty stuffed raven hanging out of his mouth by its wing. He stood on his tiptoes and snuck a wary glance at Campbell, who was currently mid-yawn and blinking drowsily. Brady smiled, a toothy, bashful thing as he gently stroked her little forehead with one chubby finger.

 

“Hi baby,” Brady whispered reverently. “We’re gonna be best friends.”

 

As a chorus of coos rang out in the small delivery room, Ronan took a moment to admire the perfect picture before him. Adam, with his loving eyes and his fatherly presence and his strong arms wrapped around a tiny pink bundle. Brady, with his happy grin and his childlike wonder. This new life, young and hopeful, the promise of beautiful memories and a fresh start on the horizon.

 

As he sat there, looking at this perfect picture, Ronan felt something bloom inside him, something he had felt strongly only twice in his life. Once, when Adam Parrish walked into his Latin class on the first day of Sophomore year. Again, when he gazed down a baby with Lynch-blue eyes trembling in a hospital bed.

 

And now, as he looked on, he allowed himself to quietly feel it. He allowed himself to _want._

 

 


	2. They Can Smell Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam and Ronan come to Blue and Gansey's rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAYYYY ANOTHER CHAPTER! I'm so grateful for everyone's sweet comments on the last chapter! I'm so happy to be working on this universe again! 
> 
> Love to everyone! xx

 

The phone rang at two in the morning.

 

“What the fuck,” Ronan groaned, his face shoved into his pillow as the shrill ringing pierced his ears. “Adam. _Adam,_ wake up.”

 

“Huh?” Adam sat up, still half asleep. “What’s happening?”

 

“Your phone is ringing,” Ronan huffed. “Make it stop.”

 

“Oh, right,” Adam mumbled, lazily grabbing for his phone as Ronan held a pillow over his head and grunted in frustration. Adam’s eyes were still closed as he answered. “Hello?”

 

“Adam!” Gansey chirped on the other side of the call. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

  
“Gans, it’s two in the morning. You definitely woke me.”

 

“Right,” Gansey said. “So sorry about that. You see, we’re having a problem over here. The baby is just inconsolable and I think maybe Jane is becoming homicidal and I’m totally capable of handling it myself but I was wondering if perhaps-”

 

“Gansey,” Adam sighed. “Do you need us to come over?”

 

Beside him, Ronan groaned aggressively into his pillow.

 

“Would you?” Gansey sighed with relief. “Oh, Adam Parrish, you’re an angel. I don’t deserve you.”

 

“Yeah, you really don’t,” Adam said. “We’ll be over in half an hour.”

 

“Thank you! Now, I must go sedate my very hormonal wife. I’ll see you in a bit.”

 

“Bye, Gansey,” Adam sighed, hanging up the phone. Adam wiped a hand across his eyes, trying to rub the excess sleep out of them. At least it was his day off. He couldn’t say the same for Ronan, who had cows to feed and work to do.

 

Adam rolled over, running a soothing hand up and down Ronan’s back. He rested his chin on the man’s shoulder, letting his fingers trace the curling black tendrils that ran along his husband’s spine.

 

“Do you want me to go alone?” Adam whispered, knowing Ronan was still awake.

 

“No,” Ronan sighed, turning over to pull Adam into his arms. “I’m up now. Do you want to get Brady ready, or should I?”

 

“I will,” Adam said, planting a kiss on Ronan’s cheek. “You go make the strongest pot of coffee you can.”

 

“I’m on it,” Ronan said, stumbling out of bed and out into the hallway. When Adam heard Ronan’s footfalls on the stairs, he rolled out of his warm bed and began to make his way down the hall towards Brady’s room.

 

To Adam’s surprise, Brady was already sitting up in bed, clutching his teddy bear tight to his chest. They had made the transition from bed to crib a few months earlier, a milestone that was hard to swallow because their baby was growing up. But as Brady held his hand out to Adam, his bright blue eyes half-lidded and his thumb clamped between his lips, he still resembled to sweet baby he had once been and Adam loved it.

 

“Good morning, sweet boy,” Adam said, plucking Brady from his bed and holding him close, rocking the boy slightly. “Did you dream sweet dreams, my love?”

 

Brady nodded his head mutely. He wasn’t his best in the mornings.

 

Adam gently pried the toddler’s thumb out of his mouth, replacing it with his pacifier. The little boy happily sucked as Adam changed him out of his diaper and into his underwear and put a sweatshirt over his footie pajamas. Chainsaw swooped through the nursery doorway and landed on Adam’s shoulder, nuzzling his cheek with her beak and then nuzzled Brady’s as Adam lifted the boy into his arms and began to descend the stairs.

 

Ronan was standing at the counter, pouring two steaming cups of black coffee, adding copious amounts of cream and sugar to one and staring at the other in disgust as he handed it over to Adam. Predictably, Brady reached out towards Ronan as soon as he was in arms reach.

 

“Morning, buddy,” Ronan said, pulling the boy into his arms and placing several kisses on both of his sleep-warm cheeks. “Did Daddy wake you up from a good dream?”

 

“He was up when I came in,” Adam said in between gulps of coffee. Ronan busied himself with entertaining Brady while Adam packed a bag full of baby cereal, a change of clothes for Brady, spare diapers, rags and a couple of clean pacifiers. He also brought earplugs, so him and Ronan could block out baby Campbell’s shrill early-morning cries.

 

They got everything into the car and headed towards Monmouth. It had only been two days since the Ganseys brought their baby home and they were, predictably, struggling. This wasn’t the first excursion the Lynches had made to Monmouth, but it was the first one they’d made before sunrise.

 

Gansey was waiting for them in the parking lot, looking more disheveled and exhausted than Adam had ever seen him look. Gansey wave, his tired eyes twitching as he tried to give them a convincing smile.

 

“Fuck, you look like shit,” Ronan said as he pulled Brady from his car seat.

 

“Ronan, language,” Adam scolded, slinging the diaper bag over his shoulder.

 

“Sorry, Brady-bug,” Ronan whispered. “Don’t say bad words.”

 

The little boy barely acknowledged him, his head rested on Ronan shoulder as he played a game of Adam’s cellphone.

 

“Why are you standing out here, Gansey?” Adam asked as they made their way towards the building.

 

“Ah, well…it appears I’ve been banished from the house by my beautiful wife,” Gansey chuckled, anxiously scratching the back of his neck. “I’m hoping she’ll let me back in now that you guys are here.”

 

Adam and Ronan shared a wide-eyed glance over Gansey’s head as they began to climb the stairs. Blue had never been anything but sensible, even during her pregnancy. What were they about to walk in on?

 

“Honey?” Gansey called through the door. “Can I come back in now?”  


“NO!” Blue roared from the other side of the door, her voice muted by the wailing of a baby.

 

“I have Ronan and Adam out here with me!” Gansey called back. “They’re here to help!”  
  
There was a pause, and then the door was thrown open, revealing a red-eyed, tear-stained Blue Sargent and a wailing baby Campbell.

 

“Uh-oh,” Brady said quietly as he took in the state of his only aunt.

 

The boys stared at her, only for a moment, before leaping into action. Ronan brushed past Gansey and went to set Brady down on the couch before circling back to take the screaming baby from Blue’s arms. Adam pulled Blue into an embrace, trying not to wince as her tears and snot soaked through his thin t-shirt. Gansey went to go make tea.

 

“I’m not meant for this!” Blue wailed into Adam’s shoulder. “She won’t stop crying. I’ve fed her twice, changed her, burped her, rocked her, played her calming music. I don’t know what else to do!”

 

“Don’t worry, Blue,” Adam hushed her. “If anyone can calm her down, it’s-”

 

And suddenly, like flicking a switch, the crying stopped.

 

“-Ronan.”

 

Blue and Gansey looked on with shock as Ronan, the same boy who used to drink and swear profusely, drag raced with mobsters and came home with bloody knuckles on more than one occasion, swept a soothing finger over the baby’s forehead as he sang to her softly. Adam looked one, beaming with pride.

 

“How did you do that?” Gansey asked, coming to sit next to Ronan as Campbell’s weary brown eyes closed.

 

“It’s what Mom and Dad used to do when Matthew was fussy. When we got Brady, it worked for him so I just figured…”  


“You really are magic,” Blue breathed, coming to sit next to Brady.

 

“You can’t be so afraid of her,” Adam said as he looked down over Ronan’s shoulder, gazing at the baby. “Children can smell fear.”

 

Gansey snorted and the baby’s face twitched at the sound, causing the two exhausted parents to hold their breaths. But soon enough, her face smoothed out and she fell back into a deep sleep.

 

“Thank you guys,” Blue sighed, rubbing her bloodshot eyes with a coiled fist.

 

“Go get some sleep, you two,” Ronan said, wrapping his other arm around Brady, who was beginning to doze on his lap. “We’ll watch her for a few hours.”

 

“Are you sure?” Gansey asked, relief rippling across his handsome face.

 

“Just go, Dick,” Ronan sighed fondly. Adam and Ronan watched the couple hurry off toward their bedroom, anxious to get a few hours of sleep. Adam plopped down next to Ronan, lifting a sleeping Brady into his arms and cradling his little head against his chest.

 

“Remember when that was us?” Adam asked, resting his eyes for a moment as he leaned his head on Ronan’s shoulder.

 

“God,” Ronan chuckled. “We were a disaster.”

 

“We turned out okay in the end,” Adam said. “They’ll figure things out eventually.”

 

“Yeah,” Ronan sighed, placing a kiss on Adam’s forehead. “Let’s just hope they figure it out sooner rather than later.”

 

“Oh, hush. I’m going to put him down in the guest room,” Adam said, standing up from the couch. “Look at the bright side. At least we don’t have to worry about these things anymore.”

 

Ronan felt his insides clench at Adam’s words as he watched his husband and child disappear into Noah’s old room. He looked down at the baby in his arms, studying her long eyelashes, her small pink mouth, the twitch of his little nose. As her tiny hand wrapped around Ronan’s index finger, he felt the flare of wanting rise in his heart once again.

 

“Yeah,” he whispered. “At least there’s that.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me comments please!


	3. Bumps and Babies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brady is sick, Ronan is useless, Adam is exhausted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I love writing fluff, y'all.

 

Adam came home to the sound of wailing.

 

This wasn’t so uncommon. The long term effects of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome were a daily battle, one of which was behavioral issues. Brady wasn’t usually a misbehaved child. In fact, Adam and Ronan were constantly getting comments from friends and strangers alike on how truly kind and polite their boy was. However, when Brady did have a tantrum, he gave it all he had. There would be crying, screaming, thrashing limbs and an occasional curse word he’d previously heard Ronan mutter. They were working on it.

 

Adam set his briefcase down by the door and wandered towards the noise. He found Ronan pacing the living room, carefully watching his step in order to avoid a discarded toy or noisemaker, while holding a crying Brady in his arms. Brady was practically boneless in Ronan’s arms, his flushed face stained with tears, his blue eyes glistening. Ronan was in a similar state of distress.

 

“He’s been crying since he woke up from his nap,” Ronan said hysterically. “He won’t tell me what he wants or what’s wrong. I tried giving him a snack, reading to him, letting him watch a movie…nothing!”

 

“Could he be sick?” Adam asked, coming over to place a comforting palm on his toddler’s forehead. “Maybe a little warm, but I don’t think he’s running a fever.”

 

“What should we do?” Ronan asked, bouncing Brady a bit as the child’s screams began to increase in volume.

 

“Um…maybe a bath will do the trick?” Adam suggested. “Then maybe our little Brady-bug should have an early night in bed, huh bug?”

 

This suggestion would normally be met with screaming and more tears, but Brady simply lifted his arms in Adam’s direction. Frowning, Adam pulled Brady from Ronan’s arms and rubbed his heaving back with a soothing hand.

 

“I’ll run the bath,” Ronan said, heading towards the stairs. Adam bounced Brady, trying to quiet him as much as possible.

 

“Shhh…” Adam hushed, walking slowly up the steps behind his husband. “It’s alright, baby. Daddy’s here. I’ve got you, bug.”

 

“Daddy!” Brady wailed miserably, digging his tiny fists into his eye sockets.

 

“Someone’s tired, huh?” Adam teased lightly as he moved into Brady’s room and laid the boy on his little bed, beginning to strip him of his sweat-soaked clothes. “We’re gonna get you into a big bubble bath with lots of that lavender soap you like and then we’re gonna get in our pajamas and snuggle up before bed. How does that sound, bu- oh _shit_.”

 

And there it was, the culprit of his son’s hysteria: a small cluster of harsh, red dots on the boy’s belly.

 

“Damn it,” Adam cursed under his breath. “Ronan?”

 

“Yeah?” Ronan called over the sound of rushing water from the bathroom down the hall.

 

“Can you come in here?” Adam called back, beginning to search for any other bumps. There were two on the inside of Brady’s left thigh and one on the back of his neck. Just as Adam suspected and feared.

 

“What’s up?” Ronan asked, popping his head into the room.

 

“Well,” Adam sighed. “I know what’s wrong.”

 

“Of course it only took you five minutes while I’m still scratching my damn head hours later,” Ronan chuckled. “What’s the verdict?”

 

“Chickenpox,” Adam declared solemnly, pointing out the bumps on the boy’s body.

 

“That’s impossible,” Ronan exclaimed, “I changed him two hours ago and there were no bumps. I swear!”

 

“That’s what happens. They come on fast. We see it all the time at work,” Adam sighed, stroking Brady’s warm cheek. The little boy leaned into the cool touch gratefully, melting Adam’s heart. This was not about to be a fun few days.

 

“My poor baby,” Ronan cooed, reaching out towards Brady. Adam pushed him away just in time.

 

“Not so fast, Lynch.”

 

“What?” Ronan asked dumbly.

 

“You can’t touch him until this has passed,” Adam said. “You’ve never had chickenpox. It’s bad enough that you’ve been holding him. You might have infected yourself.”  


“I don’t care,” Ronan said, charging forward again and practically growling when Adam blocked his path towards Brady. “Let me hold my son. He’s crying. I don’t care if I get the stupid pox.”

 

_“I do,”_ Adam said. “It’s worse for adults. Complications can occur. Brady’s case will only last a few days. Until then…hands off.”

 

“But-”

 

“Hands. Off.”

 

Ronan’s face fixed itself into an unholy scowl, the likes of which rivaled even his signature high-school-era-Lynch scowl. He crossed his muscular arms tightly across his chest, glaring at his well-meaning husband.

 

“Why do you get to touch him, then?” Ronan asked. “When did you have it, Parrish?”

 

“My sixth birthday,” Adam answered, smirking at Ronan’s attitude. “My dad smacked me every time I tried to scratch. It hurt, but at least I didn’t scar.”

 

It was a joke, but Ronan didn’t find it funny. His scowl melted into a tight frown. Ronan had warmed up to Adam’s mother quite a lot since the fateful trial, even volunteering to drive her to doctor’s appointments and to chaperone her visits with Brady. Robert Parrish, however, was not to be spoken of in front of Ronan. He despised that man with all that he had, despised him more and more every time his husband woke from a nightmare blubbering and shaking in his arms.

 

“Don’t worry, love,” Adam smiled comfortingly. “I’ll take care of him. In the meantime, why don’t you catch up on some work in the barns?”

 

Ronan was hesitant to go, but eventually relented, slinking out into the hallway. He turned then, setting hesitant and miserable eyes on his husband. “Can I touch you?”

 

Adam smiled at Ronan’s uncharacteristic bashfulness, getting up from his place on the bed and reaching for Ronan, cupping his face in his hands as he pulled him in for a kiss.

 

“Brady wants loves!” Brady cried from the bed indignantly, making a grabby gesture with his hands. Ronan twitched beneath Adam’s hands, itching to give Brady the love he wanted.

 

“Go,” Adam whispered, and after a moment of hesitation, Ronan did. Adam turned to Brady, a sympathetic smile on his lips. “You itchy, sugar? Come here, Daddy will give you some loves.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Papa!”

 

Adam struggled to hold to squirming toddler in his arms as he thrashed in bed. The whole room was stale and hot with fever. They’d been holed up in bed for two days, waiting out the worst of the pox. Adam was at his wits end.

 

“I want Papa,” Brady sobbed, kicking his chubby little legs.

 

“We can’t get Papa sick, baby,” Adam sighed. “Remember?”

 

Brady had been crying for Ronan since approximately an hour after his diagnosis. Ronan was, after all, Brady’s best friend. They spent all day with one another, and it was Ronan who put him to bed with a soft Celtic tune and a big kiss every night. Adam tried to recreate it, but he was a shit singer and Brady’s separation anxiety was too intense after all those months spent away from his parents. Adam had to talk Brady down from a mild panic attack around lunchtime, a feat that exhausted all parties involved.

 

However, as hard as it was for Brady, Adam couldn’t really imagine what Ronan was feeling, listening to his child scream for him from just a few yards away and not being able to do anything about it. Adam’s heart ached for him.

 

Just then, the bedroom door cracked open, a giant black bird swooping in and landing on the mattress with a sympathetic caw for her favorite tiny human. Brady perked up at the sight of Chainsaw, scrambling out of Adam’s lap to pet her silky feathers. After preening gratefully under Brady’s gentle hand, she dropped her loot, a piece of candy and a rolled up note, and flew off into the hallway, the door closing softly behind her.

 

“Looks like Papa found a way to bring you presents,” Adam snorted, picking up the piece of candy and handing it to Brady, who barely even waited for the wrapping paper to be peeled away before stuffing the sweet in his mouth. Adam chuckled, unrolling the piece of paper and reading it out to Brady.

 

“Papa misses you, little man. Enjoy the candy. There’s more where it came from waiting for you when you get better, so hurry up and do it. Give Daddy loves for me. I love you. From, Papa.”

 

“More candy!” Brady cheered. He settled back into the pillows and closed his eyes, ready to rest. Figures.

 

Once the boy was asleep, Adam slipped out into the hallway, hoping to wake his husband with his own special gift. He didn’t get very far before tripping over something on the floor.

 

“Fuck,” Ronan swore from his spot on the floor, pressing his face into his pillow.

 

“Ro?” Adam whispered. “Have you been…sleeping out here?”

 

“I wanted to be close,” Ronan whispered back. Adam’s heart constricted as he dropped down next to Ronan and pulling him close.

 

“God, I love you,” Adam whispered, feeling his heart swell with affection as Ronan placed a warm hand on his cheek.

 

“I missed you both,” Ronan shrugged. “I felt better knowing you were just a few feet away. I feel useless.”

 

“You’re not useless, baby,” Adam said. “You’ve been taking care of us for two days.”

 

“Two and a half,” Ronan said. “But who’s counting?”

 

Adam smiled, pulling Ronan in for a passionate kiss. All these years with the same man and his toes still curled as Ronan teased his lips with a flash of his tongue.

 

“We’ve got about an hour before he wakes up,” Adam said.

 

“We can do a lot in an hour,” Ronan groaned, Running a hand up Adam’s thigh.

 

“That we can,” Adam whispered. “So take me to bed, already, you big softie.”

 

Ronan, of course, did.

 

* * *

 

 

“Papa, Papa!”

 

A familiar voice echoed throughout the barn Ronan was working in. He turned to find Brady running through the fields, his blonde curls bouncing with the movement, his face split with a happy grin. Adam trailed behind him, smiling.

 

Ronan rushed out of the barn, eager to see his family after four days of quarantine. Brady giggled as he launched himself at Ronan, shrieking with laughter as Ronan spun him around in a circle.

 

“I’m all better,” Brady informed him. “Daddy says so.”

 

“Well if Daddy said so, it _must_ be true, huh?” Ronan teased, winking at Adam.

 

“Yeah!” Brady agreed. “Daddy is always right!”

 

“That he is, bug,” Ronan said, squeezing his son in a fierce hug. “I missed you a ton, kid. I almost forgot what you looked like.”

 

“Papa,” Brady sighed, his face suddenly somber. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

 

Ronan blinked at Brady’s tone, glancing over at Adam. The two of the stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter, their hands fumbling for Brady’s ribs. The toddler howled as the family collapsed into a hay stack, tickling each other mercilessly, their laughter surrounding them like music.

 

Adam smiled as Ronan tossed Brady into the air like he weighed nothing, his blue eyes glistening with happiness. Sometimes, as Adam watch Ronan fall more in love with their son with every passing moment, he found himself wanting more. It was a selfish want, a needless want, but it was there all the same, lurking under his skin.

 

But this, right here and now, seemed like more than enough. It would always be enough.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments!


	4. Something Between Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ronan and Adam can't get a minute to themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI LOL A MONTH LATER WHAT'S UP
> 
> I'm so sorry this is so late. I'm having crazy writers block. I'm hoping it's passed, but I can't be sure! Please be patient with me! I love you guys! xx

 

Adam and Ronan woke together on the morning of their tenth wedding anniversary.

 

The morning sun woke them as it peeked into bedroom through a gap in the curtains, kissing their bare, freckled shoulders and gently beckoning them into consciousness. Ronan’s eyes opened approximately ten seconds before Adam, gifting him with a sight that would never grow stale for him: Adam, peaceful and beautiful and luminous in the morning light, his eyelids still dipped blissfully in slumber, a tiny curve in the left corner of his chapped lips. Ronan, unable to help himself, pressed his lips to that small, barely-there smile and Adam’s eyelids fluttered at the touch.

 

“Mmm,” Adam hummed happily, his smile widening as Ronan began to kiss his way down his neck. “I could get used to waking up like this every morning.”

 

“You’re gonna have to,” Ronan mumbled against Adam’s skin. “Because you’re stuck waking up with me every morning for the rest of your life. I’ll be kissing you with my wrinkly old man lips before you know it.”

 

“Gross,” Adam smirked, wincing when Ronan bit his skin in retaliation.

 

“Watch it smart ass, or you won’t get your present.”

 

“Oh?” Adam squeaked out as Ronan ran his expert tongue over his nipple. The bastard was a textbook tease and Adam loved it. “Does that present happen to be in your pajama pants right now?”

 

“Well, that _is_ the gift that keeps on giving,” Ronan chuckled, his hot breath against Adam’s naval sending shivers up his spine. “But no. I have something bigger in store for you, if you can imagine that.”

 

“Oh, I think I can.”

 

In retaliation, Ronan dropped all of his weight on the considerably smaller man. Adam groaned, breaking into strangled peals of laughter as Ronan held his arms down and began to lick stripes along the sides of his face.

 

“Stop it, Ronan!” Adam guffawed. “You big puppy!”

 

“Woof,” Ronan grinned, ducking to kiss Adam fiercefully.

 

And then they were rolling in the bed, two beings fused together in a tangle of legs and arms and fingers, tumbling this way and that way as if they were wrestling. There, in the bright light of morning, with the sheets around their ankles and sloppy grins on their faces, they were boys again, let in an empty house for a blissful summer with nothing to do but each other.

 

And then, just when it was getting good, the sound of little feet slapping against the floorboards echoed throughout the hallway.

 

“Shit,” Ronan cursed springing apart from Adam just in time. The doorknob turned slowly, like in a horror movie, and Adam and Ronan both became painfully aware that they were about to face their four-year-old with a matching set of raging hard-ons.

 

The bird came first, swooping into the room and landing on their nightstand, giving the men a look that said “I know what you two have been up to and I _don’t_ approve.” Next came Brady, all sleepy smiles and wild curls as he stumbled toward the bed, clutching his stuffed bear close to him.

 

“I want loves,” Brady demanded, holding out his arms in expectation. Adam glanced over to his husband as if to say, “yeah, he’s definitely your son.”

 

“Baby, why don’t you go downstairs and we’ll give you loves once we’ve all had breakfast?” Ronan said hopefully.

 

Brady was not having this. He screwed his face up in determination and began clawing at the duvet in an attempt to climb on the bed despite his size. “No. Loves now, please,” he grunted.

 

Adam sighed, hooking his hands underneath Brady’s armpits and pulling him onto the bed. The boy settled in between the men quickly, taking hold of each of their arms and wrapping it around himself like a blanket. When he was situated, he sighed contentedly.

 

“Morning, Papa. Moring, Daddy,” Brady smiled.

 

Adam and Ronan crossed their legs and huffed fondly. “Morning, Brady-bug.”

 

Oh, the joys of parenthood.

 

* * *

 

 

“Lynch! Are you almost ready? We have a reservation!”

 

“Don’t get your boxers in a twist, Parrish, I’m coming!”

 

Adam rolled his eyes as he tugged a lime green sock over a little, curled foot. Brady generally hated shoes and rarely wore them on the property. However, with Gansey and Blue taking him to Monmouth, Adam was wary of the little tyke running around an abandoned factory barefoot, no matter how much baby-proofing Gansey had done.

 

“Are you going to be good for Daddy, love bug?” Adam asked as he tied his tiny sneakers. Brady was practically vibrating at the thought of spending the night with Gansey and Blue and, perhaps even more so, Henry, who was in town from his most recent traveling hiatus. Where there was Henry, there was pizza.

 

“Yes, Daddy,” Brady grinned his signature Lynch grin, one that clearly said “no promises.”

 

“Good boy,” Adam said, tugging the shoelaces into a final bow and taking Brady’s face between his hands. “I love you.”

 

Adam said this a little too often, perhaps. It was the punctuation mark on all of his sentences. To the outsider, it might seem like Adam was the smothering type, the kind of mushy-gushy parent who went too over-the-top with their affection. To anyone who knew Adam, they could see it as it truly was: Adam was in constant fear that Brady would grow up to be as hollow as he once was. Adam desperately wanted Brady to know he was loved early, and he never wanted him to doubt it. He would die for that cause.

 

“Alright,” Ronan announced, stomping down the stairs as he tugged his tie in a final, loose knot. He looked up at Adam, his eyes going all moony as he took in the sight of him. Adam could certainly relate. In his dark grey suit, Ronan looked like one of the men in the magazines Adam would hide under his bed as a kid. His mouth water at the thought of peeling off every layer of that suit, piece by piece.

 

“Wow Papa!” Brady said, breaking the men out of their hot eye-sex session. “You look snazzy!”

 

This startled a laugh out of Ronan, who bent low to scoop up the boy in his arms. “Snazzy, huh? You spend too much time with Uncle Gansey.”

 

“No!” Brady shouted, tugging on Ronan’s curls.

 

“Oh, that is _it_ , young man. You’re gonna get it!”

 

Ronan and Brady dissolved into a fit of giggles as Ronan began to tickle the little boy. Over the raucous sound of their laughter, Adam heard the doorbell ring. He figured it would be the Gansey clan so he made his way to the front door, grinning at the sounds of his husband and child playing behind him. When he opened the door, he found not two but one Gansey, the male one, with an apologetic look on his face.

 

“Hey Adam-”

 

“No,” Adam said.

 

“What?” Gansey blanched.

 

“You’re here to tell me you can’t take Brady tonight and I can’t hear that because if I don’t get to have filthy, loud, untimed sex with my husband tonight I’m going to lose my mind. So, no. Don’t say it,” Adam said, eerily calm. Gansey winced, caught in his tracks, and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“Belle is vomiting everywhere. It’s like a fountain, Adam. Just when you think she can’t possibly puke more, she does. The doctor wants us to bring her in,” Gansey reported, speaking so quickly, Adam suspected he had said it in one breath.

 

“What about Henry?”

 

“His flight is laid over in Atlanta. I’m sorry, Adam,” Gansey sighed.

 

“Sorry?” Ronan said, coming around the corner with a giggling Brady hanging upside down in his arms. “Why are you sorry?”

 

“He can’t watch Brady,” Adam said forlornly, already tugging off his tie.

 

“What?” Ronan barked. “Why?”

 

“Campbell is sick,” Gansey said.

 

“Give her some Pepto Bismol for fucks sake!”

“ _Ronan,”_ Adam growled.

 

“Fuck sake, fuck sake!” Brady parroted, giggling at the words.

 

“Brady James Lynch, don’t make me get the soap!” Adam scolded. He pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers and shut his eyes, incredibly frustrated. Of course, it wasn’t Gansey’s fault. He could remember the anxiety he felt when Brady so much as hiccupped as a baby. It was just that…Ronan looked so good. Like, criminally good. And for _fucks sake_ , a man has _needs_.

 

“It’s fine, Gansey,” Adam sighed. “Go be with your family.”

 

“I promise we’ll make it up to you guys!” Gansey called out, already retreating back to the Pig.

 

Adam turned to face Ronan, who stared after Gansey with a murderous look on his face. In his arms, Brady squealed happily.

 

“Can we have a movie night?” Brady chirruped.

 

The men were already stripping off their suits as they unenthusiastically replied. “Sure, Brady-bug.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh Jesus Christ. That is the worst scene in cinematic history. I can’t believe we let our kid watch this. He could be emotionally damaged.”

 

“It’s the Lion King. I’m pretty sure it’s aimed towards kids Brady’s age.”

 

“That doesn’t mean it’s not completely disturbing. That cub just watched his Dad get fucking trampled.”

 

“Baby…are you crying?”

 

“Fuck off, Parrish.”

 

They were sitting on the couch, now changed into their usual uniform of stained sweats and hoodies, watching their third movie of the night with Brady snoozing soundly between them. They were both uncomfortably horny and in no position to do anything about it.

 

“I’m just going to say it,” Ronan said. “Our kid is a cockblock.”

 

“I know,” Adam groaned. “But we sort of asked for it.”

 

“I had this whole night planned,” Ronan sighed. “I rented out the fucking botanical gardens. There’s a private picnic waiting in the main greenhouse, probably getting attacked by some squirrels as we speak.”

 

“Ronan…” Adam smiled, pressing his hand against his husband’s suddenly rosy cheek. “You’re sweet, baby.”

 

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter now,” Ronan said. “We’re stuck at home with the kid.”

 

“Is that so bad?” Adam whispered. “Look at him.”

 

Ronan glanced down at his son, snuffling softly as he cuddled with Noah the cat. His dark eyelashes fanned across his rosy cheeks as his slept, fluttering as a dream commenced behind his eyelids.

 

“Nah. He’s a pretty cute cockblock, isn’t he?”

 

“That he is,” Adam smiled, smoothing a knuckle down Brady’s baby-soft cheek.

 

It was quiet, just for a moment, before Ronan spoke up. “Parrish?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“He didn’t nap today,” Ronan said. “Which means he’ll probably be out cold for the rest of the night.”

 

“And?”

 

“We have the dream bed in the North barn.”

 

Adam looked over at his husband, devilishly handsome even in his disheveled state, and licked his lips in anticipation.

 

“I’ll get the baby monitor and the lube, you put him down.”

 

“I’m on it.”

 

As Adam and Ronan ran towards the barn, hand-in-hand, they were once again the boys they had been ten years ago: young, in love, and very, very horny.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave some comments for me because I miss youuuuuu


	5. Rubba-dub-dub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bath time gives Adam clarity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....I don't even know how to start apologizing. 
> 
> I have been having the most insane writer's block, guys. Like, I could hardly write a damn thank you note let alone a chapter kind of writer's block. I'm hoping it's gone for good, but I beg you guys to just bear with me! I promise I will update as much as I can from now on. 
> 
> I love you guys and I've missed you so much. As a token of my affection, here is some fluffy stuff.

 

Sometimes, Adam silently and guiltily wished he was still a bachelor.

 

He had married Ronan so young, barely out of college by the time they had exchanged vows. It wasn’t as if marrying Ronan was ever an option; he was as fated to love Ronan for the rest of his life as Blue was fated to love Gansey. It’s just that…he hadn’t really had time to enjoy being young. At first, when it was just them, there had been a few nights of debauchery and drinking in DC that had ended with wild sex and a hangover that could kill. That wasn’t typically Adam’s thing, but on those nights spent in smoky DC clubs with a drink in his hand and Ronan’s arm slung over his shoulder, all eyes one them, he almost felt like that man in the magazine he had kept hidden in his room all those years ago: powerful, beautiful and young. But then Brady came along, and with that came the most incredible and brilliant love Adam had ever felt, but it also came with bedtimes and playdates and Elmo. Now, at Thirty, Adam felt twice his age as he slumped up the stairs to the barns after a long day at work.

 

As soon as Adam stepped through the door, he heard the signs. Shrieking giggles, playful reprimands, Chainsaw squawking, the splashing of water. Adam checked his watch and smirked. Oh yeah. It was bath time.

 

“More bubbles, Papa, more bubbles!” Brady shrieked, smacking the water so vibrant bubbles splashed and popped around him. Once upon a time, Brady had hated bath time with a violent passion. He would scream and run and kick until there were tears running down his cheeks and his throat was sore from misuse. On a whim, Ronan had dreamt up bubble bath that glowed every color of the rainbow, blue and pink and red and yellow; and as if that wasn’t enough, the bubbles hummed jolly little tunes in perfect harmony when you popped them. Adam was constantly in awe of Ronan Lynch and his beautiful mind.

 

Adam watched silently from the doorway as Ronan entertained their child, squirting enough bubble bath into the water to fill 6 baths. Brady squealed with delight, his vibrant laugh echoing off the walls as Ronan took a cup and poured the bubbly water over Brady’s head, a chorus of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” breaking out in perfect pitch as he did so.

 

This, Adam thought, was what he had slaved away for as a teenager. This was so much more than a picture of a business man in a magazine or a college degree. This- his son, his husband and thousands of musical bubbles- was his perfect dream.

 

“Daddy, come play!” Brady cheered from the tub once he spotted his other father, his sweet face flushed with excitement and joy. Ronan turned then, a gorgeous grin on his face as he took in the sight of Adam, exhausted, sweaty and rumpled but still as beautiful as the day they met.

 

“Hi Daddy,” Ronan sighed, tilting his head up in a silent request that Adam interpreted without hesitation, leaning down to give Ronan a sweet, chaste kiss.

 

“Hi Papa,” Adam smiled.

 

“Hello!” Brady chirped, ever the attention hog. “Kisses, please!”

 

“Oh, did you think I forgot about my favorite little bubble monster?” Adam huffed playfully, dropping to his knees to pepper kisses across Brady’s damp cheeks.

 

“He’s been waiting for Daddy to come home all day,” Ronan reported, resting his elbows on the edge of the tub. He pouted playfully at the little boy, his face crumpling in mock sorrow. “I’m not good enough for him anymore.”

 

“Don’t cry, Papa,” Brady sighed with adorable sincerity. “Chainsaw loves you!”

 

As if summoned by the toddler, the giant bird came swooping into the bathroom, landing in the tub with a splash so ginormous, it soaked both Ronan and Adam.

 

“Stupid fucking bird,” Ronan growled as Brady’s laughter once again hit unbelievable volumes. Adam, despite being soaked head to toe in bubble bath, couldn’t help but laugh along at the absolute craziness of his life. He lived in a house with a toddler, a raven, a cat, four goats, eight hens, twelve dream cows, a teacup pig and perhaps most improbably, Ronan fucking Lynch.

 

And as Ronan began to laugh along, ticking Brady under his ribs until the little boy’s laughs were near screams, Adam realized he was in love with his crazy, beautiful life.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, guys! Please leave me some comments to let me know how you liked it! Love y'all!


	6. Preschool Problems, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brady gets a very interesting invitation. Ronan is not happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry for the delay, writers block is kicking my ass.
> 
> This part of the story will have three parts to it, and I'm hoping to update soon so you aren't left in the lurch! As always, leave me a comment if your feeling lovely! xx

Ronan would never admit this to Adam, but secretly, he loved his mornings alone with Brady.

 

Of course, he loved it when his little family was all together, too. Ronan’s heart was never warmer than when Adam and him would take turns smothering Brady with kisses, when they’d take him to the park and each take one of Brady’s hands as they swung him into the air, when rainy days ended with a Lynch family sandwich on the couch, a father on each side of the little boy, watching his little face light up with animation as they watched _Oliver and Company_ for the millionth time. He loved watching Adam be with their son, he couldn’t deny that…but he also couldn’t deny how much fun he had when it was just him and Brady and the large expanse of the Barns.

 

Every day was a new adventure with them. When it was nice out, Ronan would take Brady down to the pond and teach him how to fish with the tiny, Brady-sized fishing pole he’d dreamt. When it was dismal and dreary outside, they’d spend the whole day building a massive fort in the living room. And every day, rain or shine, Brady would help him feed the animals, his little laugh echoing off the walls of the barn as the dream cows licked his cheeks and the dream chickens ate from his hands. If everything Ronan dreamed loved Adam, they fucking _worshipped_ Brady. He was a little prince in the kingdom that was the Barns, just as Ronan had been at his age. Ronan’s heart swelled at the thought of his child being raised in the same place he’d been raised, surrounded with the same amount of love and joy he’d had. It was enough to make him tear up, if Ronan Lynch were the crying type. Which he wasn’t. Obviously.

 

“Mail, Papa, mail!” Brady leapt from his place at the breakfast table at the sound of the mailman’s truck chugging its way down the drive. Ronan could help but roll his eyes. He never would have thought he’d have a son who would be so enthusiastic about government practices, but the U.S. postal system gave Brady an unrivaled thrill and Ronan couldn’t deny him the joy that came with throwing the door open just as the mailman was walking up the porch steps.

 

“Morning, Mister Jeff!” Brady chirped, leaping out onto the porch to stare up at the older man in awe.

 

“Good Morning, Brady,” Jeff smiled, charmed by the little boy. The two were on first name basis, something that Ronan thought was both adorable and hilarious. Jeff flicked his eyes up at Ronan, who was leaning in the doorway, watching as his son dropped to his knees and began to sift through the mail, his little tongue jutted out between his lips, his face schooled in stern concentration.

 

“Morning, Jeff,” Ronan said. “How are the kids?”

 

“Off to college and too busy to call their old dad,” Jeff sighed, smiling warmly at Ronan. “It goes so fast. You’ll see. Pretty soon little Brady will be finding his college acceptance letters in that mail stack.”

 

Ronan’s heart jolted at the thought, but he didn’t let his face falter.

 

“Nah,” Ronan shrugged, scooping his son off the floor and lifting him in the air. “My Brady-bug will never leave his Papa, right bug?”

 

“Right!” Brady giggled. “Lift me higher, Papa!”

 

Jeff chuckled at the sight of Ronan Lynch, a boy who at one point had been the scum of Henrietta, so incapacitated with love for such a small, bright little boy. It warmed his heart and set him in good spirits for the rest of the day.

 

“Well,” Jeff said, “I should be going. Tell Adam I said hello!”

 

“Will do,” Ronan said, hugging Brady close. “Say bye-bye, bug.”

 

“Bye-bye, Mister Jeff!”

 

Brady Galloped back inside as Ronan shut the front door behind then, flicking through the mail as he did so.   


“Hey bug, go get your boots on please. It’s muddy outside and we have to feed the goats,” Ronan said, pulling out bills and things addressed to Adam and setting them aside from the heap of coupons in the pile. He heard Brady climbing up the stairs and smiled. He was holding onto these days, when Brady was happy to do what Ronan said, because at the end of the day, Brady was a Lynch and Ronan could see a teenage rebellion on the horizon.

 

Ronan continued to flick through the mail. _Bills, bills, coupons, bills, letters from Henry, Letters from Matthew, invitations, Bills again…_

 

But there, at the bottom of the stack, was a pale blue envelope with a gold wax seal on the back, addressed to Adam and Ronan. Ronan flipped it over, rolling his eyes, wondering what function the Ganseys' were throwing now. But when he ripped open the letter and pulled the crisp white paper from within, his stomach dropped somewhere around his knees.

 

“Preschool?!”

 

* * *

 

 

Ronan paced as Adam sat hunched over the kitchen table, the letter in one hand and his tablet in the other.

 

“It looks like it’s a good school, Ro,” Adam said finally, causing Ronan to scoff.

 

“There’s no such thing as a good school,” Ronan said. “He’s much too young to be going to school, anyway.”

 

“He’s almost five,” Adam said gently, casting a look towards their son, who was playing with Noah the Cat in the living room. “We knew this day was coming, baby.”

 

“Not this soon!” Ronan cried hysterically, his face set in clear panic. “He’s not supposed to be going for another year!”

 

“I think this might be good for him,” Adam said, coming to wrap his arms around Ronan in order to calm him. It worked, but only marginally. “He’s not exposed to many people his age out here, Ronan. His best friends are you, me, Noah the Cat, Chainsaw and the mailman.”

 

Ronan sighed, resting his forehead against Adam’s. He knew Adam was right. This day had been looming in the distance for quite some time now. He just…after nearly five years of constantly caring for Brady and being the most devoted of stay-at-home dads, it was hard for Ronan to imagine his day without Brady taking up every second of it. Without him, what was Ronan’s purpose?

 

“Let’s just go see the school,” Adam suggested. “We can take it from there, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Ronan agreed, even though he wasn’t sure it would be.

 

He had a feeling this was going to be painful. He was right.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brady is getting so old. ):
> 
> If you feel obliged, leave a comment down below!


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